Fractal VP4!

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damn, i was hoping for a small form-factor modeler. The FM3 is really too large for most of my gigs. I only EVER use a single amp and 1 or 2 effects. I'll probably buy a tone-x. Was hoping to stay in the fractal camp for everything...
 
jzucker said:
damn, i was hoping for a small form-factor modeler. The FM3 is really too large for most of my gigs. I only EVER use a single amp and 1 or 2 effects. I'll probably buy a tone-x. Was hoping to stay in the fractal camp for everything...
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You can add a preamp in pedal format to it with built in cab emulation...?
 
I could see this being really handy for someone in QC or Kemper lands who wants to add some higher quality effects to their setups, but still wants to stay flexible.
Or for someone who's maxed out their CPU on their current Fractal system- might make a lot of sense to offload something CPU heavy like high quality reverbs or plex delays to the VP4 through the S/PDIF- in other words, this could be used as sort of an expansion board pretty easily with no extra latency.
Or someone with an already complex board who's looking for some extra flexibility...
Or a slick all in one solution for anyone who doesn't need a truckload of effects- I'll often only have three or four effects loaded in a preset for my stereo amp Swart rig. Cool addition to the lineup! Could be a real Swiss Army knife.
 
jzucker said:
it's too big. I need something small. For most of my gigs , I can get away with a tone-x or even tc combo deluxe. I think it's a big growth segment that fractal is missing out on. I'd much rather use a small fractal pedal...
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It is a bit big for only 4 switches, I agree.
 
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jzucker said:
it's too big. I need something small. For most of my gigs , I can get away with a tone-x or even tc combo deluxe. I think it's a big growth segment that fractal is missing out on. I'd much rather use a small fractal pedal...
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A super small rig intrigues me. But for me, there is a "minimum viable footprint" for usability; i.e., the minimum physical size limit isn't the processor. It's the controller.

Let's pretend that all my signal processing runs on my iPhone, and can be controlled via Bluetooth. I need some way to switch patches and control effects, and given my playing style, I do that with my feet. I'd need three or four switches in an enclosure that allows enough space between the switches to reliably hit the one I want, and I need two expression controllers.

The smallest footprint is a controller wide enough for those switches, and deep enough to allow a pair of expression pedals above them (that is really not ideal but let's make the board as compact as possible). Anything smaller would be difficult for me to use onstage because the buttons and pedals would be too close together to use. This footprint is actually about the size of the FM3, BTW. So the difference between my smallest usable pedalboard and what I have now, is basically six inches in width from adding the two EV-2 pedals with an inch space separating them.

YMMV.
 
JiveTurkey said:
Unsarcastically; I get that space can be limited. And I love me some HX Stomp form factor. But the "my stage is the size of a single floor tile" shit has gotten ridiculous at this point.
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We got crammed into a corner one time, and I told the guys I'm not playing here ever again. I'm not about to have my gear get damaged by people just walking by, and coming in and out. It was ridiculous.
 
TSJMajesty said:
We got crammed into a corner one time, and I told the guys I'm not playing here ever again. I'm not about to have my gear get damaged by people just walking by, and coming in and out. It was ridiculous.
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I've played in SMALL places. And I've never used it for my main source of income so there's that. And I'm a hack :oops::D I just made it work because that's what you had to do.
 
Odibrom said:
Only 4 blocks per preset? Not for me then...
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For me I think four would be enough. I don't know that I ever have more than four active (unbypassed) effects in my AxeFx3 Scenes. However, I understand that for some 4 would seem limiting.

Although the product is called virtual pedalboard, I am guessing that many folks would actually pair it with some of their other favourite pedals on their pedal board. If you always have Reverb and Delay going then perhaps you have a Keely Caverns on your board to do those and then use the VP4 to do everything else (overdrive, modulation, compression etc). Or if you have a couple of killer overdrive pedals that you love then perhaps you keep those and let the VP4 do your modulation and time effects.

I think this offers folks a lot of flexibility. Maybe it is not their entire pedalboard, but it could certainly replace a lot of pedals on large pedal boards, especially those that aren't used all that often, and likely the switcher too.
 
Sleestak said:
A super small rig intrigues me. But for me, there is a "minimum viable footprint" for usability; i.e., the minimum physical size limit isn't the processor. It's the controller.

Let's pretend that all my signal processing runs on my iPhone, and can be controlled via Bluetooth. I need some way to switch patches and control effects, and given my playing style, I do that with my feet. I'd need three or four switches in an enclosure that allows enough space between the switches to reliably hit the one I want, and I need two expression controllers.

The smallest footprint is a controller wide enough for those switches, and deep enough to allow a pair of expression pedals above them (that is really not ideal but let's make the board as compact as possible). Anything smaller would be difficult for me to use onstage because the buttons and pedals would be too close together to use. This footprint is actually about the size of the FM3, BTW. So the difference between my smallest usable pedalboard and what I have now, is basically six inches in width from adding the two EV-2 pedals with an inch space separating them.

YMMV.
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That footswitch spacing is important. Fractal maintains approximately three inches of space between footswitches across all of its products. That really helps you accurately hit only the switch you want when you’re in the heat of battle.

Sure, other manufacturers cram more footswitches into a small space. That results in double strikes, whether you have large feet or not.
 
I'm using Compressor, EQ, Wah, Reverb as constant ON FXs, then I'll add Delays, Pitch/Harmony and whatever... my recent favorite is Ring Modulater with an expression pedal for the rate/frequency... I'll add some more in OFF state that will turn ON when desired...

... as said before, 4 blocks is a no go for me. How's the FX chain? series only or does it allow for parallel FXs?
 
jzucker said:
it's too big. I need something small. For most of my gigs , I can get away with a tone-x or even tc combo deluxe. I think it's a big growth segment that fractal is missing out on. I'd much rather use a small fractal pedal...
Click to expand...
What type of gigs you do??? Fm3 is small no?
 
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